Groupement tactique interarmes de Kapisa
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The ''Groupement tactique interarmes de Kapisa'' (GTIA Kapisa, "joint tactical group of Kapisa"), also called Task Force Korrigan, was a battalion-sized unit of the French Army, based in
Kapisa Province Kapisa (Pashto/Dari: ) is the smallest of Afghanistan's thirty-four provinces and is located in the north-east of the country. It has an estimated population of 496,840 people and an area of , making it the most densely populated province apar ...
, in Afghanistan. It operated in the framework of the French forces in Afghanistan.


Structure

GTIA Kapisa comprises * a command component * a support component * two armoured infantry sub-groups The support unit provides fire support, engineering, communications, maintenance and medical support. The GTIA Kapisa operated under the
Regional Command East In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
headed by US general
Curtis Scaparrotti Curtis Michael "Mike" Scaparrotti (born March 5, 1956) is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as the Commander of United States European Command. He concurrently served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Scaparr ...
. The other units of the French Army in Afghanistan operate under Regional Command Capital headed by French general Michel Stollsteiner. From 15 June 2009, GTIA Kapisa has been constituted of the
3rd Marine Infantry Regiment The 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment (french: 3e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine, 3e RIMa) is a unit of the French Army in the French Forces. The 3e RIMa is one of the oldest of the troupes de marine. This regiment is one of the "Quatre Grands" of ...
(3rd RIMa), complemented with an armoured unit of the
1st Marine Infantry Regiment The 1st Marine Infantry Regiment (french: 1er Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine, 1er RIMa) is a French regiment heir of the Troupes de Marine, colonial infantry. The regiment is one of the « quatre vieux » regiments of the Troupes de Marine, wi ...
(1st RIMa), two engineering sections of the 6th Engineer Regiment (6th RG), two mortar sections of the 11th Marine Artillery Regiment (11th RAMa), and a communication group for the 48th RT. This amounts to 650 personnel. The headquarters and one of the combat groups are positioned at
Nijrab Nijrāb (Pashto/Persian: نجراب) is a city with five valleys in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country loca ...
, while the other combat unit is based in Tagab. On 1 November 2009, command of the GTIA was transferred to the Brigade La Fayette.


History

The foundation of the GTIA-Kapisa was announced by President Sarkozy on 3 April 2008, during the NATO summit in Bucarest.


Task Force Chimera, August 2008 to January 2009

From August 2008 - January 2009, the GTIA-Kapisa was dubbed "Task Force Chimera". It comprised elements of * the
8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment The 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (french: 8e Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine, (8e RPIMa) is an airborne regiment of the French Army. The 8e RPIMa was created on 28 February 1951 and the men wear the red beret. It is par ...
(8e RPIMa) * the
35th Parachute Artillery Regiment The 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment (french: 35e Régiment d'Artillerie Parachutiste, List of French paratrooper units, 35e RAP) is the only List of French paratrooper units, airborne artillery unit of the French Army forming the List of Fren ...
(35e RAP) * the
17th Parachute Engineer Regiment The 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment (french: 17e Régiment de Génie Parachutiste, 17e RGP) is heir to the traditions of the 17th Colonial Engineer Regiment (french: 17e Régiment Colonial du Génie, 17eRGC) which illustrated itself during Wor ...
(17e RGP) A company detached from the 8e RPIMa to the BatFra, and sustained casualties, 10 killed & 21 wounded, during the Uzbin Valley ambush on 18 August 2008. Task Force Chimera sustained 15 wounded during its tour besides the 10 killed & 21 wounded, during the Uzbin Valley ambush on 18 August 2008.


Task Force Tiger, January 2009 to 15 June 2009

From January 2009 to 15 June 2009, the GTIA-Kapisa was dubbed "Task Force Tiger", under Colonel
Nicolas Le Nen Nicolas Le Nen is a French Army officer. Since 2007, he has commanded the 27ème bataillon de chasseurs alpins, and heads the Groupement tactique interarmes de Kapisa. Biography Le Nen joined Saint-Cyr in 1986, and chose Infantry after graduat ...
. It comprised elements of * the 27th Mountain Infantry Battalion (27e BCA) * the
2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment The 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (french: 2e Régiment Etranger de Génie, 2e REG) is one of two combat engineer regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment provides the combat engineering component of the 27th Mountain I ...
(2e REG) * the 4th Chasseurs, providing an armoured arm with five AMX-10 RC (4e RCh) * the 93th Mountain Artillery Regiment (93e RAM). One of the most notable operations was the
Battle of Alasay The Battle of Alasay, codenamed Operation Dinner Out, was a military operation carried out by French troops of the Chasseurs Alpins's 27e Battalion and the Afghan National Army (ANA) 1st ''Kandak'' (battalion) between 14 and 23 March 2009. M ...
, on 14 March 2009. Task Force Tiger sustained one dead (Corporal Nicolas Belda, killed during the
Battle of Alasay The Battle of Alasay, codenamed Operation Dinner Out, was a military operation carried out by French troops of the Chasseurs Alpins's 27e Battalion and the Afghan National Army (ANA) 1st ''Kandak'' (battalion) between 14 and 23 March 2009. M ...
), and one wounded.


Task Force Korrigan, 15 June 2009 to 15 January 2010

From 15 June 2009 to 15 January 2010, the GTIA-Kapisa is dubbed "Task Force Korrigan", under colonel Chanson. It comprises * a section of the
3rd Marine Infantry Regiment The 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment (french: 3e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine, 3e RIMa) is a unit of the French Army in the French Forces. The 3e RIMa is one of the oldest of the troupes de marine. This regiment is one of the "Quatre Grands" of ...
(3e RIMa) * a section of the 6th Engineer Regiment (6e RG) * two mortar sections from the 11e RAMa * one group of the 48e RT * one armoured platoon of the
1st Marine Infantry Regiment The 1st Marine Infantry Regiment (french: 1er Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine, 1er RIMa) is a French regiment heir of the Troupes de Marine, colonial infantry. The regiment is one of the « quatre vieux » regiments of the Troupes de Marine, wi ...
(1e RIMa) In June, the French troops received reinforcements with eight CAESAR self-propelled howitzers.La France va envoyer huit canons Caesar en Afghanistan
,
Jean-Dominique Merchet Jean-Dominique Merchet (born 26 October 1959 in Besançon) is a French journalist working for the daily newspaper ''L'Opinion''. He specializes in strategy, defense and military issues and often appears on radio and TV shows, notably ''C'est dans ...
, ''Secret Défense'', 29 June 2009 As of 1 November 2009, Task Force Korrigan had lost 7 killed and 44 wounded.


See also

* Groupement tactique interarmes de Surobi


References

{{reflist, 2 International Security Assistance Force units and formations (Afghanistan) Ad hoc units and formations of the French Army